


Of Knights and Men

by poisoned_milk



Category: Wayne (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Falling In Love, Knights - Freeform, Monarchy, Royalty, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29424582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisoned_milk/pseuds/poisoned_milk
Summary: Wayne McCullough is a peasant boy living with his cousin following the death of his father. When he becomes smitten with the princess of the royal family, Delilah, he attempts to enlist as a knight in order to get closer to her. She ends up being so much better than he expected, both in personality and her desire to help the town. But her brothers, the other knights, the suitors, and the king potentially finding out he's a peasant? Yeah, he didn't sign up for all that.
Relationships: Wayne McCullough/Del Luccetti
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Of Knights and Men

**Author's Note:**

> This story is probably gonna have slow updates, sorry about that.  
> Just a lot going on and I write when I have motivation. Anyways, hope you like it!

Brockinghampton.

Someone was trying way too damn hard to make the town sound fancier than it was. At least, that’s what Wayne McCullough had always thought.

There wasn’t anything too special about it. It was one of three shabby towns in the surrounding area, all of which were a decent distance from each other. The town was the poorest of the three, what with the majority of people being in poverty and work opportunities being rare. People did what they could to get by, whether that was working a trade or doing cleanup around the marketplace. Many houses were in meager shape and needed maintenance. They were made of old but sturdy wood that creaked and eventually broke apart. Some had holes in the ceilings. People didn’t own a lot of furniture or necessary tools to fix these problems, and the king hardly seemed concerned as long as the houses were still standing.

Despite this, there were exceptions, those few that fell into middle ground—not poor, but not wealthy.

Wayne McCullough happened to be one of those few. At least, he was now.

He approached a small brick house, his boots creaking against the dusty wooden floors as he entered. This was not his house—he was a lowly peasant boy. However, he did live there. The stomach-soothing smell of oats and meat curled around his nose, pulling him towards the dining table. It was a simple table made of some tan-grey scratchy material—probably straw—with two matching chairs. An orange bowl and a spoon was placed in front of the left chair, and a pot of something was set in the middle under a lacy decoration of some sort.

A woman was facing the stove, stirring something in another pot. Short in stature, with dark braided hair cascading down her back like a charcoal waterfall. Her dress was a vivid steel blue color, fraying at the hem with strings of thread beginning to fall loose, matching those of her equally worn dark boots.

When she turned to face him, he was met with soft dark irises, though her smile did not reach them.

“Wayne, you better be eating more,” Hayley said, who now had a hand perched on her hip. She had left the pot for him to take what he wanted of the oatmeal, though lately his portions seemed to be smaller.

Wayne had been living with his cousin Hayley after the death of his father from a fatal illness a few months ago. Both his mother and older brother were missing in action, and Hayley had been the closest living relative, being in the same town. It had taken some getting used to, living in a new house. Sure, the young woman was family, but he never knew she was living in the same town as him. He barely kept in contact with anyone outside his immediate family. If he really thought about it, he barely kept up with _anyone_ _at all._ And no one seemed to be too worried about him, either.

“I can’t,” he replied, staring into his bowl. He suddenly seemed guilty. “There ain’t gonna be enough for you.”

Hayley’s smile grew at the corner. She turned towards the stove to grab the other pot and bring it to the table. Without a word, she reached for Wayne’s spoon and scraped most of the pot’s contents into his bowl. Chunks of hearty, warm beef piled atop the milky, mushy whole grains, the lightly spiced flavor adding something to the bland taste, and no doubt making a more filling meal for Wayne.

“You need your strength, okay?" She insisted. "You’re gonna get sick if you keep eating these small meals.”

Wayne just stared at Hayley’s retreating form, pain in his green orbs. It felt like his dad all over again. After he had fallen ill, he began eating less and less until it seemed like he was going entire days without much of anything to eat. Hayley barely ate as it was, making sure her younger cousin was fed first.

And it made guilt fester within his chest, cloying like an ugly growth that stuck to his ribcage and refused to disperse.

“Want some bread?” Hayley’s voice, once again across from him as she slid into the other chair.

Wayne didn’t want to take any more from her. He shook his head. “No.”

Hayley responded with a shrug and continued eating.

There was silence at the table for a while, just the sound of chewing and a utensil clinking, before the young woman spoke up. “You heard about that speech thing the princess is supposed to be giving today?”

The Irish boy shook his head once more, mouth full.

“It’s kinda funny, really. The two princes share a brain cell between each other, so the king broke the traditional mold and now the princess is gonna be the next ruling monarch.”

He had no idea about any of that. He didn’t keep up with famous people, he didn’t really care. The royal family screamed nothing but authority and money. If you asked him, they could go fuck themselves. There were a bunch of poor and starving people in Brockinghampton and some in the neighboring towns. The least they could do was try to help them.

Hayley’s fingers slowly rotated the morsel of white bread as she chewed. “I’m gonna go see it. I think she’s the only one in that family with a pretty good head on her shoulders.”

Wayne gazed into his food. He wanted to go with her. The princess didn’t make many appearances in public unless accompanied by the rest of her family, not to mention the idea of a new leader did pique his interest. Maybe she’d be better than the king. Maybe she’d do something good for the town.

Glancing up, he asked, “Can I come too?”

“Of course,” the woman replied, before popping the last of her bread in her mouth. “Just wear a hood so the guards don’t recognize you.”

Wayne pouted slightly. The guards needed to stop abusing their power. “Not my fault they don’t know how to treat people.”

“No, but it also isn’t your responsibility to fix that.”

Verdant eyes glanced to the side, settling on the small fireplace, complete with logs thrown in. “If I don’t do it, who will?”

“Well,” she began, “you don't have to do it alone _._ You got a heart of gold, Wayne. You only ever try to help people. Just saying to let others help you too. Don't want these idiots to start petitioning to run you out of town or something like that.”

He didn’t respond for a minute, but her words repeated in his head through the silence.

“What time's the speech?”

“Uh, not for another hour,” she said, pushing away from the table. “We have time. I got some more work to do upstairs anyway, so, I’ll be doing that. If you leave, just make sure you get back here within the hour.” She was on her way to the stairs before Wayne’s voice stopped her again.

“You, uh, need some help or somethin’?”

Hayley gave him a half smile. “Nah, don’t worry. I think I can finish before we leave. Thanks, though. Just don’t do anything stupid.” With that, she trudged up the stairs, braids lightly bouncing against her shoulders.

Before Wayne could wonder how to kill his time, a loud tapping got his attention. Spinning around, he was met with a dark-skinned boy waving from the window, a grin on his face.

Well, this was one way to do it.


End file.
